Greece: Anarchist refugee squats prepare for State onslaught

by: fawda - June 21st, 2017

A new spate of recent evictions and interventions by the Greek State against refugee solidarity occupations run by the anarchist movement in Athens has prompted callouts for a major emergency gathering this Friday.

The callout and associated international day of action comes in the wake of a series of crackdowns and repression [1][2] against the solidarity movement, which has helped thousands of refugees self-organise to house themselves and defend against far-right violence since the Syrian crisis began.

It has been supported by six major occupied centres and groups, Oniro, City Plaza, 5th School, Notara 26, Underground Railroad, Spirou Trikoupi, Jasmine School and Acharnon School, which have put out a joint statement on the deteriorating situation in the city:

During the last month we witnessed the State escalating its anti-immigration policy of restrictions against refugees and the solidarity movement. In Addition to the EU management of migration issues which include forcing people to live in horrible conditions ,deporting them and denying them their basic human rights, the Greek government is revealing its totalitarian face by demonstrating its repression power through evicting political and housing squats for refugees.

In the last days new information was leaked through newspapers, about court decisions focusing on the eviction of three more squats. Papoutsadiko, Zoodoxou Pigis 119 and City Plaza, one of the largest refugee squats that hosts around 400 people. It is clear that the State is focusing in shutting down every self organised free space, including all housing squats for refugees. An attack towards City Plaza or any squat is an attack to all of us.

They know how to use the power of riot police forces, but we know how to use the power of solidarity! As long as they try to evict the squats, as long as they build camps and detention centers, as long as there are borders – we will also be there to fight back and fight for a better world!

We won’t bend down, we won’t let them in, we stand united!
We will show them again what we already proved, we live together, we struggle and we resist together – to defend the dignity of each individual, to defend our principles of solidarity and to keep our free spaces open.

Therefore we call for a protest and a gathering on June 23rd, in front of the Ministry of Migration (Stadiou 27) at 7 pm.

On the same day we call for an International Action of solidarity towards all squats and against evictions!

– Keep the squats open!
– Close the camps and detention centers!
– Cancel the shameful EU-Turkey deal!
– Open the borders!
– You can’t evict a movement!

~ Coordination of Refugee Squats

Activists have warned that the eviction order against City Plaza marks a major potential escalation of force by the police and local State authorities, which have not been even vaguely reined in by the supposedly progressive Syriza government as they try to break what is seen as a disruptive and shaming movement which has publicly shown up the State’s own failings.

The anarchist squats have increasingly been a thorn in the side of the European anti-migrant project, which has made cynical deals with Turkey’s widely-abhorred Erdogan government to shut the borders and subject the shattered Syrian peoples to brutal camp conditions, out of sight and out of mind.

City Plaza, along with other refugee-occupied spaces, has represented the first popular “breach” against constant elite repetition of racist and repressive discourse against refugees, say activists, as it has demonstrated both that refugees and local people can live together in dignity, and the vision of a Europe based on solidarity, struggle and humanity — a true nuisance for those in power.